By
TAMMY MILLS

ONE PUNCH NIGHTMARE

THE son of a former Albury policewoman and councillor will undergo surgery today to reconstruct his face after a one-punch, unprovoked attack in Dean Street after last week’s Albury Gold Cup.

Lynda Summers described it as “every parent’s worst nightmare” when she received the news her son Jake, 20, was attacked after the cup during a night out with friends that went horribly wrong.

Ms Summers said the assault on her son was a message that something needed to be done about curtailing alcohol-related violence.

“Albury is a great place to live but it’s being tarnished by these cowardly acts,” she said.

“And it’s all exacerbated by a sea of booze.”

Ms Summers said Jake had been walking along Dean Street near Sweethearts Pizza between 1am and 2am last Saturday with a group of friends when he said hello to someone he thought he recognised.

“He realised it wasn’t his friend and turned back to his crew and the next thing he’s been clocked from behind,” the former detective said.

“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. The only saving grace is he’s up and about and able to talk about it, as we know there are other parents in the same situation where young people are getting killed.”

Ms Summers said she had spoken out in the hope it would identify her son’s attacker and spark a community push to stop the violence.

“We know there were witnesses and they need to step up. Play your part in stamping this stuff out,” she said.

“If this person is on the loose doing these sorts of things to someone as happy-go-lucky as my bloke, it could be some other parent next week and the consequences could be far worse.”

Ms Summers said even though she’s optimistic, her son, an apprentice boilermaker, faced a tough road.

The punch caused multiple fractures on the left-hand side of his face and a crack runs from his eye socket to his upper jaw.

He has nerve damage, which may or may not be permanent, and today’s surgery to reconstruct his face carries the risk of rendering him blind.